Relatives of dead Mazaruni miner objected over ‘undetermined’ cause

An autopsy conducted last Friday on the body of miner Wilberforce Kendall could not determine the cause of death due to its decomposed state. It was then rescheduled to be conducted by another pathologist after relatives objected to the results.

Wilberforce Kendall

Stabroek News had reported in Saturday’s edition that the autopsy was rescheduled from last Friday to today by police. However, police in a press statement last night said “relatives of the deceased along with the police were present on Friday June 18, 2010, at the GPHC (Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation) mortuary where the post-mortem examination was scheduled to be done by Dr. Vivekanand Brijmohan who subsequently stated that the cause of death was undetermined owing to the decomposed state of the body.”

Kendall’s relatives, police said, became upset and objected, claiming that the body bore a wound to the neck. Brijmohan, according to police, then declared that he was leaving it until Dr. Nehaul Singh returned to work today.

As a result the autopsy was rescheduled by that pathologist for it to be conducted by Singh today.